Cool. And Swearingen bitched about the entertainments but in the end, he'd thought about what he would do. He had a good voice, considering.

I thought the song to moose was showstopping, myself.

Deadwood: Al's song at teh edn was interesting. He said early on that he'd never been to one of John's performances. DH noticed that none of the power players were at Amateur Night: Bullock, Swearingen, Hearst and Tolliver were all tucked away alone in their lairs.

E.B. making Richardson stop juggling was such a bummer.

More Deadwood: Alma wasn't there, either. Amateur Night was really about the non-power players and hooples. Did Erika mention the board-balancer earlier? He'd been popping up in quite a few scenes, and I half-expected a scuffle between him and Al when he went into the empty Gem. Instead, Al just throws him out and goes back to drinking alone and singing his little song. (an early version of "Streets of Laredo" according to some of my sources). Also, I loved Langrishe telling Farnum that envy was the vilest of the deadly sins when he grabbed Richardson.

Yeah, I thought that was interesting too. Why is Richardson so weird? Do we ever find out? Although it's true...Farnum does use him to feel better about himself.

Ow, sweet. I thought that sounded like an intermrdiate step between St. James Infirmary and Streets of Laredo. I had been told that the latter was a cleaned up version of the former, but I could never see how, really. Al's song struck me as a missing link in that evolution.

Also, Joannie and Charlie Utter discussing the tree and its story was just lovely.

"Streets of Laredo" is a famously filthy song with something like 12,000 verses. Though who knows what iteration it was in during that era.

If you say so. The one I know, a guy is shot and dies. Like I said, cleaned up version.

IM has a nice singing voice. I was pretty impressed. Somehow it was kind of unexpected... I mean, I like how he talks, but that doesn't always mean they can sing. Deadwood spoiler Are Joni and Jane, you know, Joni/Jane? Corwood, while you're here, about The Wire, how do you feel about Teacher!Pres. Of course, he's getting set up for another thankless job but I've been fond of that character for a long time.

If you say so. The one I know, a guy is shot

Research says (as noted) that it's linked
to "St. James Infirmary" which was derived
from "The Unfortunate Rake."

THE UNFORTUNATE RAKE


As I was a-walking down by St. James' Hospital,
I was a-walking down by there one day,
What should I spy but one of my comrades
All wrapped up in flannel though warm was the day.


I asked him what ailed him, I asked him what failed him,
I asked him the cause of all his complaint.
"It's all on account of some handsome young woman,
'Tis she that has caused me to weep and lament.


"And had she but told me before she disordered me,
Had she but told me of it in time,
I might have got pills and salts of white mercury,
But now I'm cut down in the height of my prime.


"Get six young soldiers to carry my coffin,
Six young girls to sing me a song,
And each of them carry a bunch of green laurel
So they don't smell me as they bear me along.


"Don't muffle your drums and play your fifes merrily,
Play a quick march as you carry me along,
And fire your bright muskets all over my coffin,
Saying: There goes an unfortunate lad to his home."


This l9th century broadside text may not be the grand-daddy of all later
versions of the much travelled "Rake" cycle, 'but it is probably
sufficiently close enough to the original ballad to warrant its use as a
starting point for an examination of the whole family of related parodies
and recensions.


Only a handful of texts reported from tradition have been as graphically
frank in their commentary on the cause of the young man's demise as that
given in this early version. Later texts have tended to treat the matter
obliquely, or have rationalized the situation by having death caused by
other, usually more violent, means. KG